Poolbeg Pharma plc (LON: POLB, OTCQB: POLBF), a biopharmaceutical company focussed on the development and commercialisation of innovative medicines targeting diseases with a high unmet medical need, has announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent Office in relation to its Immunomodulator II patent application. A Notice of Allowance is a precursor to the expected formal grant of a patent in due course.
POLB 001, a potent and selective Phase II-ready p38 MAP kinase inhibitor (mitogen-activated protein kinase), has strong potential across multiple disease areas. The claims which the US Patent Office have deemed acceptable to grant cover a class of drugs (including POLB 001) for treating hypercytokinaemia (cytokine storm) and for preventing hypercytokinaemia in a patient after an immune response has been triggered. This encompasses cytokine storm induced in any disease indication.
Poolbeg is actively building a comprehensive IP portfolio, with patents in place covering p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for the treatment of severe influenza; and covering POLB 001 for the treatment of hypercytokinaemia. Further patent applications have been filed and have complementary coverage as the Company continues to expand its patent portfolio covering POLB 001 and the wider class of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors, particularly in respect of cancer immunotherapies, thereby enhancing the value and attractiveness of POLB 001 to potential Pharma partners.
Jeremy Skillington, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma, commented: “This Notice of Allowance is significant for Poolbeg, further strengthening our robust intellectual property for the Company’s exciting POLB 001 therapy and enhancing its value for potential partners. POLB 001 has the potential to make breakthrough cancer immunotherapies more accessible to the patients that need them by enabling safer and broader use of these cancer treatments in an outpatient setting. I am excited by the potential of POLB 001 to positively impact global health, it has a compelling data package and there is strong unmet need for an effective therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome with the market potential in this setting alone exceeding US$10 billion.”
